Changing Fate
by LittleMissSyreid
Summary: The universal forces, Fate and Destiny, capture Clara and begin meddling with her timeline. In order to save her, The Doctor must jump in and out of her life and prevent bad decisions from happening with the help of another, more powerful force of the universe... But can he do it before Clara is changed for good?
1. Chapter 1: Mobile Thief

The TARDIS made a dull thud as it finished materialising, ending the vworping sound that The Doctor loved oh-so-much. She had landed outside a tall office building that stuck out like a sore thumb amongst it's desolate background. The top of the structure wasn't visible as it faded into the warm, pink clouds above it.

The door swung open and Clara's tan, leather boots settled into the dusty ground. She was wearing a pale green floral dress, complimented by a dark denim jacket. She stepped out of the big, blue box, swiftly follwed by The Doctor who was dressed in his usual attire.

"Where are we this time?" Clara asked.

"The TARDIS must be in one of her you're going-where-you-need-to mood."

They both craned their necks up to examine the towering structure ahead of them. It appeared to be built out of a dark purple material. The windows and doors were all made of glass yet they were not able to be seen through on this side of them. The Doctor shut the door of the TARDIS abruptly behind him before walking with a slight skip in his step towards the towering construction. He pressed himself against the wall of the building and squished his face up against it so that his face was all screwed up. Clara had to slap her hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing.

"I can't...hear...anything..." The Doctor whispered. He clenched his fists and knocked the wall several times. A few seconds passed and The Doctor's face stayed neutral yet screwed up. He tried knocking the wall again. Barely a millisecond after he had knocked, the door Clara was leaning on, slid open with a quiet but quick swoosh. It caught her by surprise and she tumbled to the floor. Her mobile phone fell from her breast pocket and skidded across the floor a few centimetres. The Doctor had jogged around the corner at this point and placed his hands under Clara's armpits - lifting her to her feet with surprising strength. She brushed the dust from her knees, chest and torso. The corridor was dark and shadowy. The only visible thing was a small green light at the end of the tunnel. Clara felt around for her mobile phone but couldn't find it.

"Damn!" She said, smashing her fist against the wall as she stood up.

"It was new too." She continued. Suddenly, she heard a scuffling of feet and heard a door slam shut. She ran to the wall and began banging her fists against what she could feel was a door.

"Hey! Give me my phone!" She shouted. The Doctor tried sonicing the door but he wasn't interested. He wanted to explore.

"Come along P- Look, let's just go. Maybe we'll find it later if the door unlocks." Clara sighed and crossed her arms.

The Doctor set his sonic to flashlight and used it to light the way as they wandered aimlessly down the corridor. They reached the end which The Doctor established when he ran into a metal wall. He felt along it until he felt a lump on the wall that glowed green. He determined it to be a button and pushed it with the palm of his hand. The metal wall, that probably had the imprint of his face on now, opened up to reveal an sparkling clean elevator inside. The Doctor poked his head in between the door frame and examined the lift. After confirming its safety, he stepped inside. He turned on his heels and looked at Clara who stayed outside the lift. He shrugged at her and adjusted his bow tie. Simultaneously, the doors on the lift began to close and a look of panic appeared on both of their faces. They both ran for the doors - both failing to reach it in time. Clara slammed her hand against the button several times and with no buttons other than an arrow pointing up, The Doctor bashed his fists against the door. Neither of their attempts were fruitful. The Doctor tried to talk to Clara but even shouting couldn't be heard - the doors were just too thick. Clara was left all alone in the dark and it was such a shock that she just stood in disbelief.

Clara slowly trudged towards the corner of the room with her hands and arms outstretched to avoid walking into anything - not that anyone would see. She felt the two walls meeting and pressed her back against it before slumping to the floor and hugging her knees. She wished she had her phone with her for light and entertainment. Almost as if she had wished for it, the lights flashed on. She squinted for a moment but her eyes widened as two figures stooped over her. Before she was whisked away, she had a chance to say:

"Please...no!"

The Doctor was still in the lift. He had also slumped to the ground with his head in his hands. Every now and then, he would sigh. After a couple of minutes, he decided that this was getting him no-where. He knew that escape was not an option and therefore he studied the button before pushing it gently. He enjoyed the click that the button made and smiled to himself before standing up. The lift took a couple of seconds before acknowledging that a button had pressed - when it had, a whirring sound began and the lift appeared to be moving slowly upwards. After a while, the doors split and revealed a massive room full of computers. He glanced around but after he took one step, two men in vibrant orange striped, corduroy suits slid in front of him. Simultaneously, they said with a dull monotone:

"Welcome Doctor. We have been expecting you."


	2. Chapter 2: Leaving Clara

The Doctor said nothing but stared at the strange men before him.

"You were... expecting me?" He said, confused.

"You could say that." One of the men said. The other continued:

"Or you could say that we knew you were coming."

"I don't understand. They're the same thing, surely?" The Doctor folded his arms defensively.

"Nothing stays the same Doctor." The one on the left continued.

"You of all people should know that you can change things." The right one chimed in.

"I suppose but how did you know I was coming then? And how do you know who I am and what I ... do?" The Doctor was getting slightly frightened.

"We had to know who you were to get you to come here. That is how we know you were coming." They both spoke together. They tilted their heads slightly and smiled. If the Doctor wasn't trying to work out what they were saying, he would have been creeped out.

"I still don't understand - and I really don't like it."

"You of all people know things can change in time. What about Fate? Destiny? Can they change?" They said together. The Doctor thought for a minute.

"It depends what you mean by Fate and Destiny."

"People's intended courses - where they will end up in life." The fellow on the right said blankly.

"Personally, I think that Fate and Destiny cannot change but how they reach that fate, their ... intended course can change." The Doctor unfolded his arms, scraped his hair out of his face, fixed his bow tie and re-folded his arms.

"Well, you are false." They both snapped. Their heads untitled and they looked at The Doctor, eyes wide open.

"I beg your pardon?!" He said, startled.

"You have proven yourself wrong Doctor." One of them said.

"You travel though time" The other explained.

"And while you change the course to people's fate - you change their fate too." The Doctor pondered this.

"Can you give me an example?" He was beginning to doubt himself and switched his weight to the other foot, uncomfortably.

"Captain Zachary Cross Flane. His fate was to die in the black hole with the rest of his crew." The Doctor's mind was cast back to his previous regeneration and his heart began to hurt as he thought of Rose... He thought also of the Ood who died innocently.

"Surely, it wasn't a bad thing that he survived, the beast would have escaped if I hadn't intervened."

"We are not stupid Doctor-" they barked together.

"-Never said you were-"

"The beast was never going to escape in the reality that you hadn't arrived." The doctor was getting irked at this point.

"Captain Zachary Cross Flane would have entered the black hole and in one last moment sacrificed himself to cause his escape vessel to explode - along with the black hole, the beast and the nearby planet of Gefoster."

The Doctor was getting angry at this point. He pushed past the pair of men and throwing his hands in the air, shouted;

"Surely it's a good thing I saved those lives - it would appear that you two are the only people complaining!"

They looked at each other and then the one man stepped forward. It was only then that The Doctor realised how different they looked from each other.

"You see, Planet Geforester launches an attack on Earth in the year 2783 because their planet was never destroyed. They are responsible for the premature death of the human race. All because you saved a life."

The Doctors arms dropped and he pushed more of his hair out of his face by running his fingers through it. He pulled at the collar of his jacket also. He tried to adjust his bow tie but his hand almost seemed too weak to manage it and just dropped to his side - lifeless. His mouth had almost dried up and it dropped open. He blinked constantly, trying to unsee the images of Earth, and the people in it, dying. The innocent people screaming and crying out, the children in the arms of strangers hoping for salvation, the limp bodies strewn throughout the streets and the alien forms hidden between the shadows and the burning buildings - hunting for their next victims. A single tear fell from The Doctor's right eye and hit the shoulder of his twead jacket but he rubbed his hand against his eye to stop anymore.

"The Doctor. The name written throughout the galaxies has altered our plans too many times. And now, it is time for justice. Doctor, to prove you are worthy of your gift of time travel, you must prove that you can use it for good. Real good."

The Doctor stepped out of the shadows and approached the two men, he brought his face close to the men and stared them down.

"How?" He grumbled with gritted teeth.

"How long have you been up here Doctor?" The one man said smiling, evily.

"Tell me HOW?!" The Doctor shouted, still not moving from the men's faces.

"How long do you think Clara has been left alone?" The men said together, now both of them smiling. The Doctor's eyes widened and he turned to run towards the elevator. However, before he could, he heard the sound of a light being switched - a loud clunk - and he stopped in his tracks and turned slowly. He looked at the men who were stood, shoulder to shoulder, in the middle of the room. The room was dark other than a light which was now shining behind them. They looked at each other then back at The Doctor with sharp, flawless movements. They then moved to the side and revealed behind the source of the light that had just switched on.

Behind them was a glass cylinder that was built of obviously thick glass. At the top offence cylinder was a swinging silver lamp that swung with an eery quality.

Inside the cylinder was Clara.

"DOCTOR!" She obviously screamed although it couldn't be heard too well through the glass. The Doctor ran up and slammed his palms agains the glass and attempted, hopelessly, to break the glass. She had been sat in a curled up ball until the light had come on. The Doctor continued to beat his fists against the thick glass. He eventually pulled out the sonic and attempted to shatter it on a high frequency but to no avail.

"What have you done?" He spoke deeply and darkly as he dropped his head low. Clara placed her hand where The Doctor's was against the glass.

"It's not we have done Doctor. It's what we will do - what she will do." They both stood with their hands behind their backs - clearly proud of themselves.

"You know Clara as a sweet, innocent and good person. What if that was to change? Like you changed the future of Earth?" They snarled.

"As we speak, we are working away at changing her timeline and fate as you have done in your past actions. We are changing events and good decisions she has made to the opposite. Just wait and see." They said. They then looked past The Doctor and at Clara who began stepping to the back of the cylinder due to fear of their gaze. Her back hit the wall and almost as if it triggered it, a cotton-white gas spewed into the cylinder and Clara began to cough and splutter. Her coughing fit came with such force that she stumbled forward and stablized herself by leaning on the glass in front of her. The Doctor was pressed up against the glass, another small tear falling from his other eye. The gas was gradually getting thicker and thicker until the only part of Clara that the Doctor could see was her hand pressed against the glass. Every now and then it would move slightly as a result of her coughing.

Several minutes had passed since the gas had entered Clara's chamber. The Doctor still refused to leave the chamber, in a hope that nothing had happened to Clara. Suddenly, Clara's hand was whipped away from the glass and The Doctor was almost startled and stepped back slightly. The - all of a sudden - a jagged knife came hurtling through clouded atmosphere and made a clean cut in the thick glass. The Doctor jumped abruptly and began stepping backwards. A small hand came out of the fog and wrapped around the handle of the knife, it pulled with surprising force and thereby removed the knife before disappearing into the clouds again. The smoke began to pour out of the crack in the glass. Then there was a smash and The Doctor was sent flying backwards as a mixture of glass and gas exploded before him. He lay on the ground for a couple of seconds in pain and shock before struggling to look up. Before him stood Clara but ... different.

She had changed from her sweet floral dress and neutral clothing to a pair of baggy, ripped camouflage khakis, an old, dirty-white crop top that was covered in a large leather jacket with chains. Her shoes had been swapped to a pair of muddy, broken walking boots. The Doctor was not normally one to judge by appearance but she did look...rough and the knife in her right hand also wasn't friendly. He she'd yet another tear at the sight of his broken friend. He reached out a hand and leaned forward but she threw the knife at his feet, scaring and stopping him. He stood up and edged backwards. Clara's face was screwed up and her makeup was dark. Her eyes had fear and anger in them - something The Doctor was used to. She bent down and picked up the knife from the ground.

"What's the matter Doctor? Sorry you couldn't save me?" She snarled.

"But...but... Clara?"

"It's too late Doctor!" She snapped.

"I made plenty of decisions in my time and none of them ever involved you. You were never there for me. I stopped being a nanny when people mocked me. They used to call me 'Poppins'. Eventually, I got a little ... stressed about it, vexed if you will. I turned to other things. Those things 'relaxed' me. Then the people who helped me get the 'relaxing things' gave me this little tool." She ran at The Doctor and put the jagged side of the knife to his throat.

"This little tool helped me get whatever I wanted. But I never met you so instead of being whisked away and showing me that there are always people worse off, I meet the people who make me worse off and become ... this." She looked down, slightly sad but them composed herself and pushed the knife even closer to The Doctor's jugular. She began to push harder and harder, gradually moving them towards the elevator.

"If you would've come along Doctor, this wouldn't be happening. But you never stick around do you? You always put people like me in danger - your companions. I know everything now - Amy, Martha, Donna...Rose?" On that name, she dug the knife a little deeper into his skin. He winced at the pain - but not that of the knife.

"I can stop you doing those things Clara." He managed to breath out.

"GO AHEAD!" She shouts, startling The Doctor slightly. Using her spare hand placed on his chest and the knife at his neck, Clara pushes The Doctor backward so that he tumbles into the elevator.

"Just try." She says as a solitary tear falls from her empty eye.

"See if I'll let you fool me a second time." She threw the knife with military precision at the green button on the wall, causing it to break and send sparks of electricity out wards. The doors began to close as that crystal tear fell from her cheek to the floor. As the metal of the doors slid together, The Doctor whispered to Clara;

"I'm sorry."


End file.
